Timber Lane - FS 2514

Trail Overview

Timber Lane FS 2514, or simply Timberlane Ridge, is a gravel road within the Pigeon Roost Road area of the Potosi Unit of Mark Twain National Forest. The road starts coming off the Pigeon Roost Road, following a ridge going westward from the main ridge Pigeon Roost follows. The first 1.3 miles feature mild elevation changes through scenic tree-heavy forest, that (as of 2/2025) has seen some recent foresting activity but already has new growth taking root at the forest floor. The furthest west section of the trail drops nearly 300 feet in elevation to a guardrail gated-off parking area, with foot trails going north and south from it supporting fishing along the Courtois Creek. At this point, riders must turn around and head back out the way they came.

Photos of Timber Lane - FS 2514

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Difficulty

The FS 2514 is given a base rating of 1/10 for having a generally maintained gravel road, only featuring mild grades on the most western point in the road which drops down to the elevation of Courtois Creek. Expect the normal gravel complications of washboarding, potholes, and mounding of gravel. In wet conditions, a small water collection can occur, but it is nothing more than a splash, only in extreme cases would difficulty increase.

History

The 1949 Rolla, MO topo map shows that this area was once part of the Clark National Forest, rather than the now-known Mark Twain National Forest. The Mark Twain name was quiet the roller coaster of being settled on, in 1939 decision to name the entire forest, Mark Twain National Forest (at least for the first time) was made, to be temporarily changed to National Forest of Missouri (1973-1976) when what was Mark Twain merged with Clark National Forest, then in 1976 (for the 2nd time) officially renamed Mark Twain National Forest, as it has remained up to now (2/2025). In an odd, yet repetitive fashion, the Forest Service has a way of misnaming things in the most subtle ways or just not making total sense of relating from one object right next to it to another. The latter is true in this case, with the reasoning being unknown, the FS calls this road Timber Lane, despite the lake being known as Timberlane (with no space).

Technical Rating

Timber Lane - FS 2514 can be accessed by the following ride types:

• High-Clearance 4x4
• SUV